


Fade Us By

by Pins_and_Patches



Category: The Legend of Zelda & Related Fandoms, The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening
Genre: Angst, Canonical Character Death, F/M, Gather round children it's time to suffer, Grief/Mourning, Implied/Referenced Character Death, Link (Legend of Zelda) Needs a Hug, Sad Ending, Storms, koholint angst in honor of lahd's one year anniversary at 11:20 pm on lahd's one year anniversary
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-21
Updated: 2020-09-21
Packaged: 2021-03-07 22:08:50
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,515
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26575030
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Pins_and_Patches/pseuds/Pins_and_Patches
Summary: Does the thought ever scare you?
Relationships: Link/Marin (Legend of Zelda)
Comments: 16
Kudos: 31





	Fade Us By

The wind rushed against Link’s skin, blowing his pink hair sideways into his face. He stumbled to keep his balance against the wind, grabbing onto the mast. He could feel his tunic, his hat, whipping at his skin, threatening to blow away into the ocean around him- if he himself didn’t first.

Waves crashed against his raft. He could taste the salt in the air as the water collected on his face, in his hair, and as it soaked his clothing. He shuddered, trying to ignore the horrible itch in his arms as his sleeves- tight enough as they were- were soaked by falling rain and seawater, dampening his scarred skin by proxy.

But there was no time to waste on something as little as discomfort with his wet sleeves. If he got blown away,  _ it was over. _ He couldn’t let that happen.

His heart seemed to sink into his stomach at just the thought. Never before had he found himself afraid of the water, but the inky black abyss beneath him seemed to be the most horrifying thing he’d ever seen, even above-

He gripped the mast tighter, as though it were his only protection from the images of Ganon permanently burned into his mind. He could feel the soaked wood even through the bandages on his hand.

_ His bandages! _

Loose, slick cloth around his hands that could cost him his grip on the only thing keeping him from slipping into the cold, watery grave that awaited him below.

“D- Damn it,” He hissed, his voice still raw from screaming when the storm had picked up and he had yet to adjust to being thrown around by the waves and shaky from the cold, “I’m so stupid.”

Keeping his elbow wrapped around the mast, he yanked the bandages off of his hand with his teeth. The salty water that squeezed out of the cloth just blended into the coppery taste in his mouth, and it was here he realized he’d been biting his cheek so hard it’d been bleeding the entire time.

He spit the blood out into the bandage and flung it into the water, throwing his head to the side to do so.

The ocean mercilessly devoured the crimson-stained cloth, and within seconds there was no sign of it.

Link drew in a sharp breath.

This storm was ruthless.

With sore, raw hands, Link grabbed the rope tied around the mast. He could feel every individual string against his calloused palms.

“Maybe I’ve been training too hard,” He said offhandedly to himself. “This is fucking ridiculous.”

A wave tossed his raft to the side, nearly knocking it over.

Link was sent flying towards the ocean, eager to swallow him up like it had the bandage he’d thrown in.

The rain against the deep ocean created a sound almost like hissing, like a joyful, evil hissing of a beast ready to drag him to his death.

With all of the strength he could muster, he held onto the rope for dear life.   
  


Water trickled down his hands as waves of pain ran through them and as waves lapped at his chest, but he refused to let go. If Link was nothing else he was a fighter, he was a  _ hero _ , and damn it, he would  _ not  _ let a storm be what ended him.

He slowly pulled himself back up the rope until he was back on the raft. Again, he found refuge around the mast, which he wrapped himself around like a scared baby sloth to a tree branch that was its only safety from predators.

He tied his right wrist to the rope around the mast. The disgusting sensation over his arm worsened, like a million bugs were crawling around on his skin.

_ But I’m safer now, _ he reminded himself.  _ I’m safer now. _

“And that should leave my left hand free,” He said, reaching over to where the sheath of his sword usually was, “So if anything happens…”

His voice trailed off.

The blood drained from his freckled face.

“Sh- shit...” He choked out, his head reeling as a pit gnawed its way through his stomach.

His sword and shield were gone, left deep underwater to drown.

A laugh bubbled up in his chest, escaping his sore throat before he could do much about it.

“Cause this just  _ couldn’t get any worse, HUH? _ ” He said loudly into the dark, cloudy sky, as though challenging it to do worse. “ _ I just had to lose my sword and shield too! WHY NOT? Why not make this a MILLION TIMES WORSE FOR ME, YEAH? I bet you’re just DYING to! I bet you’re just DYING t- _ ”

The sky lit up a bright white.

Link looked up in horror.

And as if everything cut out around him, he didn’t hear the thunder.

He didn’t hear the rain.

He didn’t hear the waves crashing.

The only reason he didn’t hear himself scream, though…

He couldn’t find his voice to do so.

  
  
  


“I want to know everything about you, Link.”

The words caught him off guard. A blush rose to his cheeks.

“Y- you…”

He tried to echo her words, but they got caught in his throat.

“...No, you don’t,” He said quietly once he found his voice again. “I’m a mess.”

There was a moment of silence as Marin’s amber eyes scanned him.

Then a smile found its way to her lips, stretching across her tan, freckled face as she started to laugh.

“No you’re not,” She said, still grinning. “You’re incredible.”

Link could feel the heat rising in his face as a smile tugged at the corners of his mouth.

The two of them fell into comfortable silence, aside from the gentle breeze that blew by, rustling the palm trees- the ones Marin had expressed curiosity about, creating slight ripples in the now serene, pale blue ocean water in front of them, and picking up Link’s hat and Marin’s blue dress- as well as dislodging the magenta hibiscus she wore behind her ear.

Before Marin could even react, Link shot up, grabbing it by a petal between his fingers.

“There you go,” He said, giving her a grin as he handed back the flower.

She giggled. “You’re so sweet!”

Link chuckled.

He tucked her silk, wavy scarlet hair behind her air, putting the hibiscus back in its place.

_ Being so close to her… _

Something in him told him.  _ Kiss her, kiss her. _

The thought made blood once again rush to his cheeks.

Quickly, he scanned the area for something to change the subject… Though he truly couldn’t say he minded being that close to Marin.

His eyes caught a falling seagull feather.

“...Marin?”

“Hm?”   
  


“You said… You wanted to be a seagull, right?”

Marin nodded, meeting Link’s sapphire eyes with a confused look.

“What if, one day… your wish came true? But you found a nice place you wanted to call home? Someone there you wanted to call home? Or… What if you just wanted to stay in the place you’d called home until then, only to learn… you had no choice but to fly away and fulfill your old dream?

Does that thought ever scare you?”

Silence.

Link looked down at the sand beneath them.  _ Did I fuck up? Damn it, I fucked up, didn’t I? _

“...Does it scare  _ you _ ?” Marin asked back. “Is that why you ask?”

Link bit his lip until he tasted blood again, trying to force the words out of his mouth.

“Yes.”

  
  
  


_ Well, you don’t ever have to leave me, you know. _

Link’s entire body aches and burns as he stares down into the infinite blue ocean that swallowed Koholint when he woke up the Wind Fish from the beach of Hyrule.

His reflection stares back at him, looking painfully like he knows he does right now.

Messy pink hair, seared and damp tunic and hat, burned skin- though it’s hardly visible, he can feel it- and tired blue eyes filled with tears.

He’s so tired.

He’s so tired of losing everyone he loves.

He wishes he could go back to sleep, and dream of Marin again.

He never wanted to leave her.

As he traces his finger across his raw, slightly bruised right wrist, up and down his forearm, he thinks of Marin again.

Her singing.

Her wish to become a seagull.

And how he let her go, and left her world to drown.

If only he hadn’t left…

If only he’d stayed by her side.

Never left her.

If only…

“What if, one day… your wish to be someone worth remembering came true? But then… you came across… a nice… a… a nice island, somewhere in the middle of the sea, that you so badly wanted to call home? And a wonderful girl there, and you… wanted to call her home?

But… But then… you learned, you had no choice but to let that world and that girl disappear into the sea? That your old dream was a prison you would never escape, and you had… no choice, but to fly away?

_ Does that thought ever scare you?” _


End file.
